05/15/2026
Superintendent's Message for May 15, 2026 (Spanish & Mandarin translations link included)
Dear New Haven families,
Next week, we will join districts throughout California in recognizing Classified School Employee Week, a time set aside to honor the staff members whose daily work supports the success of our schools. Since its establishment in 1986, this week has acknowledged the important contributions of paraeducators, custodians, administrative assistants, food service workers, bus drivers, and many others who play a vital role in our students’ experience.
From the first greeting in the morning to the final moments of the school day, these team members help create safe, welcoming, and supportive environments for students. Much of their work happens behind the scenes, but its impact is felt in every classroom and across every campus.
Please join me in taking a moment to recognize and thank these essential members of our school community.
On Thursday, May 14, our personnel department hosted our annual “Cheers for the Years” event, where we honored our retirees and employees of the year. To date, we know that 33 employees will retire at the end of this school year. This is always a bittersweet moment; we are very happy for all our employees who have achieved this milestone and wish them the best of luck in retirement, but we know that losing their expertise and knowledge will be very difficult to replace. The “Cheers for the Years” event was a wonderful way for us to celebrate their retirements.
We had many worthy candidates for our Employee of the Year Awards; selecting an overall winner is always challenging. This year’s overall winners are:
CSEA Hesham “Mo” Moussa Classified Employee of the Year Site Winners:
Jamila Williams, Hillview Crest Elementary School
NHTA Casey Rodriguez Teacher of the Year Site Winners:
John Sowell, Guy Emanuele Elementary School
For our administrators of the year, the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) sets the award categories. This year’s ACSA award winners are:
Stella Castillo, Hillview Crest Elementary School, Principal
Anthony Pava, James Logan High, Co-Administrator
Angela Langi, Educational Services Center Confidential
Daryl Christian, Student Nutrition Services, Classified Management
Mikey McKelvey, Educational Services Center, Districtwide Winner
Zetha Nobles, Educational Services Center, Valuing Diversity
Our last week of the school year will be filled with many events celebrating our students. I hope you enjoy them.
That’s it for this week.
Sincerely,
John Thompson, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Spanish and Mandarin translations can be found here: https://mynhusd.org/newsroom/
